


The silence

by rarepairqueen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Nishinoya being a nervous ball of energy, bros being bros, some implied EnnoTana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 09:03:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9714569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarepairqueen/pseuds/rarepairqueen
Summary: "What you gotta do, is get him away from all things volleyball and see how he acts.""Like...a date.""Exactly!"---aka the time Nishinoya has a huge crush on his kouhai and Tanaka attempts to wingman for him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am back from the void, yes there has been a name change but it is still the same person. Kinda had a turbulent few weeks in my life - between class and planning an absolutely massive writing project (think Lord of the Rings style of massive) - but as is tradition, I have a valentine's gift for you all!  
> Last year it was KagaKuro, this year it's NishiHina.
> 
> This is a somewhat self-indulging piece and before this I hadn't rarely considered this pairing to be a thing so it might be slightly OOC, feel free to give me some feedback on it, it always helps with future works!

The Silence

On the outside it didn't look like anything more than friendship and a small case of a freshman idolising his senpai, but beyond the on court excitement, the high-fives and fist bumps, the playful teasing and shared smiles, there was something more. It wasn't that the rest of the team didn't know, it was more that they saw no reason to bring it up. When Nishinoya first told Tanaka that he had a crush on his kouhai, the self-elected wingman didn't rest until he had the rest of the second years on board to actively help get the two 'hyperactive shorties' together.

"I still don't get why you _had_ to tell them." Nishinoya remarked, they were sat on his bedroom floor trying to get some irritating chemistry work out of the way before the weekend. "And how did you break the news to Chikara?"

"I just said," Tanaka started, clearing his throat in preparation for re-enacting the scene, complete with actions. "'Yo Chikara, so I need your help.' and he was like 'for the last time Ryuu I am not agreeing to your stupid bet regarding when Kageyama will finally lose his patience with Tsukishima' and I was like 'whoa now that's not what I wanted to talk to you about'."

Nishinoya laughed, shaking his head slightly as Tanaka continued.

"So then he said 'okay well what is it now?' and I told him 'So Yuu has a thing for Hinata, wanna help me get them together?'" Tanaka re-enacted his finger-gunning and unnecessary winking.

"Oh my god Ryuu."

Tanaka laughed. "And he looked so confused for a second, like he was trying to work out how much debt we were in to Ukai for all the pork buns, before finally saying 'Right, and I suppose you have some weird plan huh?' And that was how I told him." Tanaka finished with a shrug. "Kinda anti-climactic to be honest."

"I dunno, sounds pretty normal." Nishinoya hummed, running his hand through his hair. "So none of them were like...weirded out?"

"Pah, even if they were, Karasuno is for life remember? Once a crow, always a crow." Tanaka grinned.

"You didn't tell captain did you?"

"No? I mean, let's be honest, Suga's probably already figured out every possible outcome in this team including this so it won't take much for the third years to get with the program."

That did little to ease Nishinoya's worries, he didn't really want _everyone_ knowing yet. He had only told Tanaka because they spent a lot of time outside of practice together, the next person he was intending to tell was Asahi but that was as far ahead as he had thought. He hadn't even thought about actually confessing to Hinata, he wasn't sure if the first year even knew what was happening.

"Relax Yuu, we don't need to rush this. Besides, I can always have a chat with Hinata, see what he's thinking."

"Let me guess; volleyball, nationals, beating Ushijima, more volleyball and _maybe_ winter vacation." Nishinoya remarked.

"Nah, it's probably more like; volleyball, nationals, beating Ushijima, oh my god Nishinoya-senpai is _so cool_ , and _then_ winter vacation." Tanaka smirked, watching the blush spread across Nishinoya's cheeks.

"Y-Yeah right."

"Come on, you know he thinks you're the coolest, I mean I like to think we're on even ground you and I, but he freaking idolises you! Tell me he doesn't and I'll call Suga up right this second and have him recount the look on Hinata's face when you received Kageyama's spike on that first day."

"I guess you're right." Nishinoya laughed nervously, he remembered the look well; the sparkle in Hinata's eyes was one of the first things he found himself remembering, in his honest opinion the receive had been sloppy but that didn't seem to matter to the first year. "I dunno bro, he just seems obsessed with volleyball and won't take his eye off the ball. That's not a bad thing per say but, like what if he just sees me as his 'super cool volleyball senpai'?"

Tanaka's eyebrows furrowed, chemistry work forgotten as he rubbed his chin in thought. "What you gotta do, is get him away from all things volleyball and see how he acts."

"Like...a date."

"Exactly!"

"Ryuu, I don't think..."

"Yuu, I'm saying this because I'm your bro and bro's stick together right?" Tanaka interrupted. "You need to ask that boy out and take him for ice cream or something. In the words of Shia Labeouf; _just do it_!"

The libero laughed, shaking his head as he stared down at his homework. He wasn't about to admit it, but he liked the idea of spending an afternoon with Hinata that didn't involve anything club related, the only issue was actually _asking_ him and not making it too obvious that he had a particular reason for it.

 

* * *

 

 

To Nishinoya's delight and slight confusion, Hinata was more than willing to spend that Saturday afternoon with him. The libero had anticipated that the first year would ask a million questions regarding why Tanaka wasn't going to join them, but he actually seemed more focused on what they'd be doing. In his panic, Nishinoya just blurted out they'd be playing video games and maybe studying a little, it was a lame plan but Hinata's bright smile made it seem like the best idea on the planet.

"See you Saturday senpai!" Hinata called before bolting out the club room door after practice, it succeeded in rousing suspicion from those still in the club room, including Suga. Tanaka refrained from commenting at first, simply raising an eyebrow at Nishinoya's slightly rosy cheeks and nervous laugh in response to Hinata's declaration.

"So, Saturday?" Suga hummed, folding his arms across his chest as he smirked slightly.

"Uh, yeah uhm well Shoyo asked if I could help him with something..." Nishinoya replied, not quite wanting to come clean in front of everyone.

"School work?" Ennoshita asked. "Not being funny, you're not exactly the highest scoring guy in the year right now."

"Hey!"

Asahi and Daichi exchanged a slightly amused glance as Tanaka ruffled Nishinoya's hair. "But he still passed the first year, so that's gotta count for something." Tanaka replied, giving Ennoshita a look that practically screamed 'you know exactly what's going on so play along'. The other second year raised an eyebrow back and smirked.

"I'm just saying, the likelihood of you two - the two most hyperactive on the team - staying on task for an _entire afternoon_ is low, very low, so I'm just wondering what you'll end up doing instead."

Nishinoya couldn't stop the blush rising on his cheeks, Ennoshita was always somewhat crafty when it came to things like this. The fact he knew that Nishinoya had a thing for Hinata only made it worse. 

"Children please." Suga sighed, laughing slightly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I mean Ennoshita does have a point, but if Hinata asked Nishinoya specifically then who are we to judge? I don't have an issue with it and it's not really our business."

"I hear that, I don't mind what you all do in your spare time as long as it doesn't screw the team over." Daichi shrugged, collecting his bag and heading out to finish locking up the gym. "And hurry up, I wanna get home before it gets too dark."

A chorus of 'yes captain' followed. Nishinoya was more than ready to leave after everything that had been said, quickly shoving his practice clothes into his bag, he was just about to hurry off when a familiar hand fell on his shoulder. Asahi didn't say anything, merely smiling and nodding towards the door. The libero found it kind of odd, the third years usually all walked home together so for the ace to want to walk with him was out of the ordinary. He grinned and called out in farewell to the others before opening the door.

They walked in silence until they were out of the gate, Nishinoya wasn't sure what to talk about, usually he would fill all the silences between him and the ace and Asahi would hum and laugh in between. Yet that day he didn't really feel like forcing a topic when he only had one thing on his mind.

"When you told me you had a thing for Hinata, I wasn't actually that surprised." Asahi broke the silence, a knowing smile on his face that rivalled Suga's. "You're very similar people, but just different enough to balance each other out."

"Oh?" Nishinoya didn't quite realise there was a science to this, he just liked being around Hinata and hadn't thought into _why_ he did.

"Yeah." The ace shrugged. "You both love volleyball, you both give the game everything you have, you're both filled with energy and enthusiasm, and that's just what I've noted. Who knows what else you'll discover."

The other shook his head, trying to play off how much all of that made his heart jump a little. "I mean, Shoyo is special y'know? In a way he's helped me come to terms with losing you."

Asahi's smile faltered slightly, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I was honestly worried how much you'll be thrown off by our graduation. Daichi and I have spoken about it a little, over the past few weeks we've seen how the freshmen have shown their personalities more on court, and how you second years have stepped up to the plate."

"Pah, you don't need to worry about us. I'm sure between Tanaka and Ennoshita leading us we'll be fine. Heck, Kageyama will end up as our setter of choice, Tsukishima is a powerhouse as a middle blocker and Yama is getting to grips on pinch serving really quickly."

"And Hinata?" Asahi hummed.

Nishinoya rubbed his jaw as he clicked his teeth. "Well, he's no glass-heart ace like _you_ , but I suppose he'll grow into the role and make it his own...I'll still guard all their backs with my life, that's what I do."

The sun was sinking lower in the sky, casting a pale orange glow over everything as they continued walking down quiet suburban streets. Nishinoya let the silence rest in the air a while before breaking it;

"So Ryuu said that Hinata idolises me, and I'm kinda scared he only sees me as his senpai and not as anything else..."

Asahi hummed in thought. "Well he's not wrong, though Hinata idolises a lot of us for different reasons. The only thing you can do is ask him I guess."

"I guess," Nishinoya let out a nervous laugh. "I've never been so scared to talk to someone...is that weird?"

Asahi chuckled. "It shows you care a lot about the answer, you care a lot about him."

The libero couldn't argue with that, he did care a lot about his kouhai, to the extent that he didn't want any of this to make things awkward between them. He didn't want to weird the other out, he didn't want to abuse the trust and friendship they had by confessing too soon. There was a lot at stake in his mind, he had already pushed one ace away - albeit temporarily - with his pushiness, he didn't want a repeat performance.

A hand on his head pulled him from his thoughts, they had reached the point in their walk where they had to part ways. He glanced up through blond strands of hair at Asahi's calm smile, returning it with a grin.

"You'll be fine Yuu." Asahi murmured. "Just trust your instincts like you do in a game."

Nishinoya nodded. "Yeah, well as I told Suga, this is just a study session y'know. Not like an actual date..."

The ace didn't object, merely ruffling Nishinoya's hair before stepping away. "Let me know how it goes."

The libero laughed letting out a sigh as he turned to walk the rest of the way home on his own. He had an entire morning to prepare his room for the other arriving, he was relieved they would be simply hanging out in his room for most of the day, it took a lot of the pressure off. That being said, he hadn't really let many of the team into his home before, they always ended up at Tanaka or Suga's house for study sessions in the past, he felt a little nervous at letting someone in on his more private life. Sure he had let Tanaka stay the night on occasion, he was his best friend after all, but this felt different somehow and Nishinoya could only conclude that it was down to the fact he harboured more than friendly feelings for the first year.

 

* * *

 

 

Cleaning his room took longer than he thought, he didn't want it to be spotless because he quite frankly wasn't that kind of person, but he didn't exactly want dirty dishes and an overflowing bin cluttering the room. Out of habit he had washed his game jersey and hung it up so now it seemed he was overly proud of his position - which he was, don't get him wrong - but he didn't want it to seem like that was his only accomplishment. His dad figured something was up when he actually put all his dirty clothes in the laundry basket and made an effort to make his bed,  Nishinoya just played it off as 'trying to set a good example to the kouhai' which seemed to be bought as an excuse.

Once he had de-cluttered his room, he felt a little more calm. Tanaka had been texting him all morning trying to offer 'advice' that usually came in form of memes and Shia Labeouf quotes, it had eased his nerves a little. He wasn't actually aware he had been feeling overly nervous about all this until Tanaka told him 'don't be nervous ;) '.

 **To: Tanaka**  
_I wasn't until you said that >_< why'd you have to remind me??!_

He sighed, knowing he still had a while until Hinata was due to arrive, knowing his luck the first year would end up being late, which meant he had more time to be teased by his best friend.

 **From: Tanaka**  
_Hey, just trying to be a supportive bro. Btw, Chikara and the others say HI :D_

Nishinoya got a sinking feeling, the other second years were with Tanaka? It could throw up all kinds of trouble if Ennoshita was feeling like being difficult, in all honesty Nishinoya wondered why he didn't get along with Tsukishima more with his attitude, then again one salty player was enough for Karasuno.

 **To: Tanaka**  
_Tell them I said Hi, also don't even think about trying to call me. I don't need y'all interrupting._

He knew that would get a laugh out of them at his expense, he didn't even intend to take things _that_ far really. He just wanted to get Hinata away from volleyball and see if he still spoke with him with the same enthusiasm as on court.

 **From: Tanaka**  
_Remember to use protection Yuu! ;P_

Nishinoya was about to reply when the door buzzer sounded, he shoved his phone under his pillow for some reason - possibly to ignore any more texts - before bounding out of the room to his apartment door. Hinata was worrying his lip between his teeth when Nishinoya opened the door, it was unnecessarily adorable and the libero had to stop himself saying anything about it.

"I hope I'm not too early! I didn't realise how quickly I could cycle here." Hinata immediately apologised, complete with a small bow.

"Uhm, it's okay Shoyo." Nishinoya laughed, playfully hitting his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

He invited the first year into his home, showing Hinata to his room where the small TV and games console sat and offering to get them both a drink. When he returned he found the other looking at the photos tacked to his wall, they were mostly of him and Tanaka doing weird faces, there were quite a few of the second years in general, selfies with Suga, candid shots of Daichi and Asahi during a training camp, there was even precious photo of him, Tanaka and Kiyoko all smiling.

"That's just one year's worth." He remarked, startling Hinata slightly as he sat on the bed next to him and offered a can of soda to him.. "I haven't had time to put up all of the ones from the last training camp."

"Is that...Yaku from Nekoma?" Hinata asked, taking the soda and pointing to a picture. It was in fact the rival libero that Nishinoya had an unlikely friendship with, they were both posing with peace signs and it was actually one of the few photos taken that day that Lev or Tanaka hadn't photo-bombed.

"Yep. Me and him occasionally meet up and talk shit about Seijoh," Nishinoya grinned, watching Hinata's eyes widen in shock. "I'm kidding of course! Nah we do talk a lot though, mainly about college and dealing with certain hyperactive first years..."

"You...talk about me?" Hinata's voice was quiet, on the edge of a whisper in disbelief.

"Yeah! I mean, you do realise how awesome you are, right?" Nishinoya replied, knowing this topic was the opposite of what he wanted to talk about, but played along because the way Hinata was staring at him made his mind go blank. Bright brown eyes stayed fixed on him, a pinkish tone rising in pale cheeks as Nishinoya's question hung in the air.

"Uhm...I mean, I guess." Hinata's small voice lacked confidence but he smiled all the same.

Not wanting silence to fall, Nishinoya slipped off the bed and started turning the games console on, selecting a rather simple button-mashing street fighter game to play first so at least they could both feign concentration if nothing else got said. Within a few minutes of the game starting, all his nerves melted away. The clacking of buttons and short objections to what was going on in the game filled the silence between them. Hinata wasn't very coordinated but he managed to get several good combos on chance alone, Nishinoya had many hours of practice against Tanaka and Saeko so he didn't even need to break a sweat.

"You're cheating!" Hinata squawked when Nishinoya won the fourth round in a row.

"Don't accuse your senpai of cheating!" Nishinoya retorted, playfully nudging Hinata in the ribs.

"Psh, senpai or not, you're still cheating!"

Nishinoya laughed, clicking through the various screens to start another round, he allowed himself to not focus so much on the game but more on Hinata; the first year was hunched over, tongue sticking out from between pale pink lips in concentration, the clumsy mashing of buttons on the control pad, he hardly even noticed that Nishinoya wasn't really paying attention to the game.

So when Hinata actually won a round, Nishinoya wasn't going to hear the end of it.

"Hah!" The younger male exclaimed, raising his arms triumphantly.

"So you admit I'm not cheating then?" Nishinoya hummed, smirking as the very real temptation to tickle Hinata presented itself to him.

"You so were though!"

"Prove that I was." Nishinoya challenged, folding his arms across his chest as he waited for the response. Hinata looked panicked for a few moments, biting on his lip in uncertainty and forcing Nishinoya to take a deep breath to try and resist doing anything drastic. The background music from the video game drifted out of the TV, making the silence a little less noticeable. Even if he hadn't caused the silence, Nishinoya was very aware he had caught Hinata off guard and now felt a tiny bit guilty.

In an effort to dispel the slight awkwardness, he acted on his instincts like Asahi told him to. Hinata was momentarily distracted by the thud of the controller hitting the floor, a loud shriek left the younger male as Nishinoya started tickling his sides, the shriek melted into laughter as he scrambled to fight off the other. Clammy hands tried to swat the libero away, a knee came up and caught him in the stomach making him wince slightly. He relented in his assault, letting the younger male gain the upper hand and repay the favour, though he wasn't as ticklish, he still found himself laughing until his stomach hurt. When Hinata pulled back, both of them were blushing and breathless, which in turn led Nishinoya to think about various other things that would have the same effect on both of them, inwardly cursing Tanaka for having that effect on him.

"You still didn't prove I was cheating." Nishinoya murmured with a smirk.

"You were!" Hinata replied with a small pout that made the libero laugh. "What?"

"Nothing." Nishinoya sighed, wincing slightly at the sharp pang where Hinata had kneed him in the stomach. The first year looked concerned as he lay on his back and gently pressed his fingers to the tender area.

"Did I hurt you?" Hinata's voice airing on the side of panicked, it made Nishinoya chuckle as he shook his head.

"No, just an injury I've had for a few days." He replied, propping himself up on one elbow and tugging his shirt up to expose the light bruising on his stomach. "I didn't dive properly whilst receiving one of Daichi's spikes and well, this happened."

Tender but callused fingers touched his skin, Nishinoya swallowed as he felt a slight pressure from the fingertips pressing on his bruises. Hinata's eyes were wide, blush evident on his cheeks but he didn't seem in a hurry to move his hand away.

"Does...do you get injured like this a lot?" Hinata asked, pulling his trembling hand back, eyes still roving over not only the bruised skin but what he could also see of Nishinoya's toned chest.

"I'm a libero, Shoyo." Nishinoya remarked. "It comes with the title, here," He sat up properly and took his shirt off, smaller bruises littered his sides and on his upper back. "all of them came from landing too hard or not bracing myself properly and being sent flying backwards by a hard receive."

The other was quiet, fingers returning to ghost over more of the marks. He seemed so much more subdued that Nishinoya had ever seen him, it was like he was captivated by the fact he got injured so much. The libero let Hinata's fingers trace each mark he wanted, delicate and slow motions, it seemed far from friendly but he was curious to see what came of it.

"You're so cool." Hinata breathed, smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Like...seriously."

"Haha, don't let Tanaka hear you say that, he'll get jealous." There was a small hum before Hinata's fingers were gone, heavy blush on his cheeks as Nishinoya glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him. "Something wrong Shoyo?"

"N-No!" The quick reply came, Nishinoya chuckled and was debating whether or not to even put his shirt back on when he felt arms wrap around his waist and a forehead rest against his shoulder. "Sorry for kneeing you in the stomach! I-I didn't know you were injured."

He was a little stunned at first, not quite sure how to respond to the sudden show of affection. "It's okay, you didn't know."

Hinata's hold on him didn't falter, the older male chuckled and gently eased his arms from around his waist, shuffling so they were sat face to face on his bed. Bright eyes regarded him, hands clenched into fists to stop them trembling, Nishinoya could feel his chest tightening slightly just looking at the younger male so flustered.

"You're too cute sometimes..." He murmured without thinking, realising a second too late what he said. He watched as the other's eyes widened a little at the declaration, bottom lip trembling ever so slightly as blush crept down Hinata's neck.

"Uhm...d-do you mean that?" Hinata eventually replied, avoiding looking directly at Nishinoya.

For a split second, Nishinoya couldn't say anything, Hinata's soft voice was music to his ears. He cleared his throat as he shuffled on the bed, not quite getting closer to Hinata but not moving away either. He couldn't lie to the other, nor could he wriggle out of this now, he had to follow through.

"Yeah..." He murmured quietly. "I do."

Hinata bit on his lip again, the quirk was going to be the death of Nishinoya. It occurred to him that maybe he had been too brash, too upfront about it, too out of the blue for Hinata to comprehend right away. He let out a small chuckle as he stood up from the bed and stretched, linking his fingers behind his head and trying to calm his racing thoughts as the silence continued.

"Shoyo, I-I'm sorry I kinda--"

"I think you're cute too." Hinata's unsteady voice interrupted. "A-And cool, and...and..."

Nishinoya turned around, not quite believing what he was hearing. They regarded each other with a mixture of disbelief and slight amusement, Nishinoya was the first to let out a small laugh, feeling his cheeks burning as the compliment sunk in. Hinata let out a more nervous laugh, covering his mouth belatedly before holding his blushing face in his hands. The older male stepped closer and gently ran a hand through orange hair, humming softly as he just stood there trying to rationalise what all this meant. Fact of the matter was, they just admitted they thought the other was cute, there wasn't anything more to the statements really, but judging by how they were both reacting, there was a hidden meaning somewhere.

It took a few minutes for either of them to actually speak, Nishinoya sat back on his bed and leaned back on his hands whilst he waited for Hinata to regain his composure slightly.

"Can I ask you something?" Nishinoya hummed, figuring at this point anything was better than silence.

"Uhm, sure..." Hinata glanced over his shoulder, eyes roving over the other's exposed chest before settling for fixing on his gaze.

"What do you see me as? Am I just your 'super cool senpai' or...what?" Nishinoya did well to keep his voice from betraying how nervous he was for the answer, he was very aware that Hinata thinking he was cute wasn't grounds for a full blown crush.

The younger didn't respond immediately, glancing back at his hands that were clasped in his lap before abruptly turning around and sitting cross-legged, his face bright red and feeling the need to wet his lips several times before actually speaking.

"...W-Why?"

That was a response Nishinoya hadn't anticipated. "Oh, um, well..." He uttered, sighing heavily as he let his head fall back, staring at his ceiling for a brief moment before righting his posture again and regaining eye contact with the younger. "I'll be honest with you Shoyo, I've...I've been crushing on you for a while, and I wasn't sure if you saw me just as your senpai or not."

He waited for Hinata to be weirded out, to accuse him of all sorts of heinous crimes, to even say he was straight and that he'd never return the same feelings. The first year seemed to mull over the confession, blinking a few times and biting on his lip for a few moments before appearing to come to a conclusion. Nishinoya stayed very still, not wanting to move an inch in case the other thought he was going to try and force himself upon him. When Hinata moved closer, shifting his weight onto his knees as he did so, Nishinoya swallowed nervously.

"...Nishi--" He stopped himself, averting his eyes for a split second, lips moving around a word but not quite saying it out loud. Nishinoya smiled, shifting his weight onto one hand as he brought the other up to cup Hinata's face, he could feel how warm the other's cheek was as he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the prominent cheekbone.

"You don't have to...I won't be upset or anything." Nishinoya felt like he needed to say it, he didn't want his kouhai admitting to things just because he felt he had to.

Hinata shook his head slightly, eyes flickering down before focusing back on Nishinoya's eyes. "...Yuu."

There was a split second where Nishinoya's world stopped, his paranoid thoughts ceased as he felt a light pressure on his lips. Unsure, hesitant movements preceded the smallest of gasps from the other male. He let his eyes slip shut as he returned the pressure, more sure of himself but equally as inexperienced as his hand moved to run fingers through unruly hair. In all his daydreams about this moment, he hadn't thought about how their noses would bump against each other's, how their teeth could accidentally clash, or how the arm that was keeping him from falling back on the bed would start going numb. None of these things really put him off, they just made it seem all the more real.

He gently pulled back, slowly opening his eyes to see that Hinata was still a blushing mess but smiling shyly.

"So...I guess that answers that question." Nishinoya whispered, not quite wanting to shatter the peaceful feeling between them.

"I...I like you a lot sen--Yuu."

Nishinoya hummed, gently bumping their foreheads together. "You can still _call_ me senpai Shoyo, I just wanted to know if that's all you saw me as."

Whilst Hinata seemed to understand his reasoning, he seemed more focused on something else. "Can we do that again?"

The older male raised an eyebrow. "Kissing?"

"Y-Yes."

He sat up properly again, rubbing some feeling back into his arm before gently cupping Hinata's face and drawing him closer. He took the lead this time, finding the younger male's hand and squeezing it as he let out a small whimper against Hinata's lips. Once or twice did he teasingly nibble at the other's bottom lip, getting short gasps from the younger male and the hand he was holding squeezing back in reply. He wasn't sure just how long they stayed like that, keeping everything innocent and barely pulling away from each other, but Hinata's eyes were slightly glazed when they finally broke apart.

"Better?" Nishinoya breathed.

"Mhm." Hinata nodded.

With a breathless laugh, Nishinoya fell back on his bed again, he didn't expect Hinata to shuffle next to him and wriggle underneath his arm but he allowed it, running fingers through the other's hair as Hinata rested his head on his chest.

"I can hear your heartbeat." The younger stated. "...it's beating really fast..."

"I can't imagine why..." Nishinoya remarked, reaching under his pillow for his long forgotten phone. Tanaka had sent him several texts all in various stages of accusing him of things.

 **From: Tanaka**  
_Chikara says he'll be disappointed in you if you've really done it ;)_

_Also you still owe me pizza for not telling Suga outright!_

_Yuu, my bro, my man, are you having too much fun to reply to your BRO?_

_Oh you're ignoring me now? T_T Yuu I thought we had something?!_

_Tossed aside at the first sight of a beautiful guy, daymn I guess I'll have to go to my side-bro Yamamoto_

Hinata wanted to know what Nishinoya was laughing at, the libero shook his head and tapped out a reply to the other second year.

 **To: Tanaka**  
_You're the one who told me to do something about it! Also tell Yamamoto to tell Morisuke that I need to talk to him asap. :P_

He knew that Tanaka wasn't really that upset about the missed texts, it was still amusing to see. Hinata didn't demand to know what was really being said, simply content just to lay there and listen to the libero's heartbeat as more text messages flew back and forth. It was a pleasant kind of silence, one where all the usual excitement of volleyball and life in general was subdued only for the sound of their breathing and Nishinoya's phone pinging away to fill the void.

In a way, this was the opposite of what most people imagined they would be like as a couple, but even the most loud and upbeat individuals needed grounding sometimes. In the upcoming months they'd both need that grounding to avoid getting too ahead of themselves; Nishinoya would have to come to terms with being a third year, with applying for college, with thinking about life beyond Karasuno and Hinata would focus entirely on becoming the ace of the team, perfecting his skills and showing everyone that he could really be as good as the little giant. Yet both of them would have bad days, days where nothing goes right and their motivation would be at an all time low, it would be during those days that this peaceful silence mattered most.

"Say, do you wanna go get some ice cream?" Nishinoya hummed after a while, pretty sure Hinata would immediately jump at the chance. When no reply came he tore his eyes from his phone and glanced down, only to find the first year had fallen asleep, soft, slow breathing making it impossible for Nishinoya to disturb him. "Well, I guess that answers that..." He hummed to himself.

 **To: Tanaka**  
_[Sent picture message]  
So I guess your stupid plan worked_

 **From: Tanaka**  
_Of course it did, because I'm THE BEST wingman ;D You owe me TWO pizzas now._

 **To: Tanaka**  
_Confess your feelings to Chikara and I might buy you three ;)_

With the final message sent, Nishinoya silenced his phone. The afternoon was still young, the TV was still emitting the video game music softly and Hinata barely moved as he slept. For Nishinoya this was the best outcome he could've imagined. He gently ran his fingers through Hinata's hair, letting his mind wander as he closed his eyes. The silence really was peaceful.

**Author's Note:**

> As I said, yes there's been a name change on the account, it is still the same account so if you've subscribed then don't worry, you haven't missed anything honestly, though I do have big plans for the next few months so watch this space!


End file.
